On May 27, nature once again showed her awesome, destructive power when a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Java. More than 5,700 residents of the region were killed by the quake, with tens of thousands injured and more than 500,000 left homeless.
(Editor's note: On July 17, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake caused additional damage and loss of life in Indonesia. According to the U.S. National Disaster Management Coordinating Agency, more than 500 deaths occurred as a result of this most recent disaster.)
As with the December 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which spawned a tsunami that killed 250,000 people, one of the ironic casualties of these quakes and tsunamis is the treatment systems that provide drinking water – despite the fact that, in the case of Java, the area is completely surrounded by oceans and seas. Several days after the event, most of the densely populated island’s water treatment plants still were not operational, leaving precious little potable water for Java’s 120+ million inhabitants.
An immediate need was suitable disinfection equipment and supplies, so chlorination systems were in high demand. Chlorine-based chemicals remain the disinfectant choice for the majority of systems that treat water. Chlorine’s most important attributes are its cost-effective, broad-spectrum germicidal potency and persistence in water distribution systems, providing residual protection against microbial regrowth. It also controls taste and odor problems by oxidizing many naturally occurring substances such as algae secretions, decaying vegetation, hydrogen sulfide and ammonia.
Among the areas of greatest need on Java was the city of Yogyakarta, a center of arts and culture with a population of 3,000,000. Located about 20 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter, the human toll was not as great as in other areas to the city’s southwest, but the water and other key infrastructure systems were dealt a devastating blow. When the city’s municipal water authority, the World Health Organization and other international relief groups called upon the worldwide water treatment industry to help, Severn Trent Services responded by donating 10 Capital Controls® Advance Series 200 gas feeders.
Consisting of a vacuum regulator, ejector or chemical induction unit and vacuum and vent tubing, the Series 200 is easy to install and needs no field adjustment prior to start-up. Ten different flowmeter capacities provide versatility in meeting varying gas flow requirements ranging up to 500 pounds per day.
According to Bill Stimeling, Severn Trent Services’ regional manager for the Asia Pacific, the water industry’s response to the devastation in Yogyakarta and the rest of Java was critically important. “Java is one of the most densely populated regions in the world, so an earthquake of this magnitude simply overwhelms the area’s ability to restore essential services needed to accommodate the population. In such cases, business and industry in countries such as the United States must take the lead in helping the devastated regions to resume basic services and rebuild. Severn Trent was just one of just many companies in the water industry that donated money, equipment and technical services.”
For more information on chlorination systems, email info@severntrentservices.com